


What Came Before

by saltedpin



Category: Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy, Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 02:00:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1051213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltedpin/pseuds/saltedpin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened in previous cycles doesn't always stay in previous cycles.</p><p>Tagged non-con, but drifts towards dub-con.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Came Before

**Author's Note:**

> This was a present for lj user ~bso_taki, who asked for some Garland/WoL dub or non-con. 
> 
> I had it up here before, but took it down to do a little tinkering.

The world reeled sickeningly as Kain's consciousness flickered back into existence.

Seeing stars, he clamped his eyes shut again until the nausea surging in his stomach subsided, giving way to a bright, disorienting throb that seemed to beat throughout his whole body.

Kain groaned. His head hurt -- his shoulders ached with numbness, and something dug painfully into his back. Breathing was an effort -- his throat felt dry, and it wasn't until he tried to swallow and choked painfully that he realised the reason was because of the gag that had slipped between his teeth like a bit.

The cough brought the nausea back briefly, and Kain closed his eyes tightly, until red spots danced against the blackness. He relaxed his jaw, breathed through his nose, and opened his eyes.

The anger that had begun bubbling in his stomach now grew up in something close to rage -- _who would do this, who would_ dare -- as he realised the reason he could not move his arms was not simply due to numbness; he was kneeling, his hands were bound behind his back, so tightly he realised he couldn't even tell if his fingers were responding to his brain's command to move.

Kain's neck cracked as he turned his head -- his lance lay a few feet away from him on the floor, glinting dully in the pale light. His memory was blank -- how he had come to be here, how his lance had come to be out of his hands and beyond his reach, and why he was alone.

_Alone._

No -- he remembered, he should not have been alone. Blinking in the dimness, ignoring the pain that shot up his neck and into the base of his skull, Kain turned his head, forced to squint into the gloom of the chamber. Panic lanced up through his chest as he spotted the figure lying on its side a few feet to his left -- but then he saw the man's side rise and fall with his breath, a slow inhale and exhale. Even from this distance, in this light and without his armour, Kain could tell it was the Warrior of Light -- if the spill of white hair were not brightly visible even in the dimness, Kain would know the slope of his shoulders, the curve of his side, anywhere. 

The dry walls of his throat scraped painfully together as he tried to call out -- the only sound he ended up producing was a retching cough. His head reeled until he managed to get his lungs back under control. Kain could not remember the last time he had been this enraged -- a standing fight was at least somewhat honourable, even if he did not agree with his opponent's aims, but this... 

"You're awake." 

Kain's head snapped around at the sound of the voice behind him. Deep and cold -- Kain's blood froze as he recognised it. It was not who he had been expecting at all, in the moments he had had to draw up a list in his head of who may have been responsible and what he would do to them. Kefka, naturally; the Emperor, perhaps; Sephiroth's games seemed reserved for Cloud and Kuja's for Zidane -- but Garland had not been on the list.

Even if Kain _had_ supposed this was in Garland's character, he had honestly believed the man dead -- he had not appeared on the battlefield in months, a far longer absence than Kain had ever known him to have. His sudden re-appearance now was as much a surprise for that reason as any other.

Unable to respond, Kain twisted his head -- _where was he, he would kill him_ \-- but the dimness of the light and the throbbing in his head that still blurred his vision made seeing almost anything impossible. It wasn't until he felt a cold scratch against his cheek as Garland's fingers slid the gag out of his mouth that he was able to locate the man at all. Instinctively, he lurched away from the touch -- or tried to, at least -- before coughing in his first comfortable breath since he had woken up.

"Untie me at once," Kain said, his throat burning, his voice only managing a hoarse whisper.

He could hear the amusement in Garland's voice. "Do you honestly believe you are in any position to be making demands?" he asked, his voice rich and deep. Garland crouched next to where Kain was kneeling against the pillar, settling his weapon down beside him.

Kain almost ground his teeth in anger, feeling pain shoot down his neck as his jaw muscles clenched. "You call yourself a knight --" he began, but was cut off by Garland's laugh.

"Maybe once," he said. "Such things are meaningless now." 

The only thing that stopped Kain from rolling his eyes was the knowledge that it would hurt his head -- he had heard enough philosophical clap-trap from Golbez without also having to put up with it from _Garland_. "Did you bring us here just to listen to your petty woes about the nature of fate?" he sneered instead. "Although I can certainly understand the need for a captive audience in that case --" 

Kain was cut off as Garland suddenly lurched forward out of the darkness, his fingers easily wrapping around the lower half of Kain's jaw, hard enough to leave bruises and clicking his teeth together.

Looking into Garland's cold yellow eyes, for the first time, Kain felt something close to fear glimmer in his stomach. There was something in his eyes he had never seen there before. That Garland was a dangerous and seasoned opponent, Kain had never doubted. He had faced him before, and believed that Garland had at least something of a code of honour, even if its workings were somewhat opaque to Kain. But this...

Involuntarily, Kain's eyes flicked over to where the Warrior of Light lay, still apparently unconscious. 

"I used to pity you warriors of Cosmos." Kain's gaze moved back to where Garland's face -- the helmet that served as his face -- hovered just in front of his eyes. "Now I wonder if envy isn't more appropriate." 

Kain made no attempt to hide the contemptuous look that crossed his face. "If you want to fight, let me loose and fight. But I have no intention of listening to --"

Garland laughed again, coldly. "And if I did, you would fight? Knowing that you'd lose, weakened as you are?"

"I would never run from an enemy."

"And if I told you that I would untie you this minute and that you could leave unharmed?"

Kain's brow furrowed. What game was Garland playing? Again, his eyed flickered to the Warrior of Light. "And him?"

"He would remain here."

Kain shook his head. "To abandon a comrade is --"

"A comrade?" Garland cut him off. "Is that all he is to you?"

Kain swallowed. Again, he felt the cold slice of fear run through his stomach. He did not answer.

"I think not." Garland released Kain's jaw, moving away from him. "I said I envied you. Do you wonder why?"

"I don't care," Kain spat out, feeling the blood beginning to return to his fingers, and moving them against his bonds.

Garland made a soft 'hmph' in the darkness. "I envy you because you still have no idea of the nature of this war."

Kain remained silent.

"You have no memory of the previous cycles, and no knowledge of the cycles yet to come. You still believe you can escape, that returning home is possible."

Kain knew it now -- Garland really _had_ gone insane. Kain swallowed. A rational enemy could be reasoned with, even if it galled him to do so, but a mad one -- there was nothing they would hear that wouldn't fuel their madness. Tying him up, rambling about cycles, offering him some fool's bargain of the Warrior of Light's life in exchange for his own, as if Kain would ever accept such a thing -- even if -- even if --

Kain's train of thought was broken as he saw Garland reach out, lifting the Warrior by the scruff of his neck and pulling him upright. Kain took the moment of Garland's distraction to put every ounce of muscle he possessed into trying to break the rope, or whatever it was, that tied him, bunching his fingers into a fist and pulling. It loosened -- only just -- but then Garland hauled the Warrior of Light over to where he sat, holding their faces almost level.

This close, Kain could see the bruise that was forming over the Warrior's cheekbone, the dried blood on his split lip. He imagined his own face didn't look in much better shape. He swallowed, his eyes going to Garland's own face, wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now.

"Tell him to wake up," Garland said quietly.

Kain swallowed and said nothing.

Garland raised his hand, grabbing a handful of hair from the crown of the Warrior's head, lifting it.

" _Tell him to wake up_."

Kain licked his lips, trying to fill his eyes with the hatred and contempt he felt in his chest.

"Wake up," he said. The Warrior didn't stir. Garland's fist grew tighter. "Wake _up_ ," Kain said again, not even having the first idea what Garland was hoping to have him achieve.

"Use his name," Garland growled.

Kain's lip curled and he looked up at Garland again. "I don't _know_ his name. Nobody does. He doesn't remember it." 

There was a moment of silence, before Garland let out what seemed to be a genuine laugh. "Is that so?" Kain could hear the amusement in his voice. "Cosmos wants him even more cowed and lowly than I thought."

"What are you talking about?" Kain couldn't help himself from asking. 

Garland let the Warrior's head drop before answering. "Of _course_ he has a name. It was given to him when he first came to this world -- Cosmos knows it and was duty-bound to tell him when he awoke at the beginning of every cycle. That was the promise she made; has she broken it already?" 

It was all Kain could do to stop his jaw from dropping right there and then. These were the ramblings of a lunatic -- a mind so unhinged it seemed totally detached from reality. And yet... 

Something like ice jolted through Kain's chest as he remembered that Golbez too had talked of cycles, of the endless nature of the conflict of this world. His breath suddenly felt very tight in his throat as he looked at Garland, before his eyes moved to rest on the Warrior of Light -- was this true? Had Cosmos known his name all along and never told him -- never told _anyone?_

"And his name -- do you know --"

Garland laughed. "Of course." 

Kain swallowed around the lump in his throat. It was intolerable to think that this man, Garland, knew it, had known it all along, and yet he --

"How?" Kain's voice was harsh, even in his own ears.

"Because he told me." 

For a moment, Kain's couldn't respond. "You lie," he managed to get out after a time. 

"What possible reason could I have to do that?"

Kain opened his mouth and then closed it again, feeling a fool. What could he say? Garland was mad -- whatever he said could not be trusted. And yet, a tiny seed of doubt wormed its way into his mind -- what if --

Kain shook his head. Looking Garland in the eye, he said, "I don't believe you."

Garland let out a short laugh. "Then don't. It is immaterial." 

"Then why bring me here? Just to tell me _that?_ " Kain asked, once again trying to move his arms against the rope that bound him.

Garland settled back on his heels, looking Kain in the eye. "Of course not."

"Then why?"

"To take back what's mine."

It took a moment for Garland's words to sink in. Kain's mouth twitched. "What do you mean?" he eventually got out, his voice sounding strangled and quiet even to his own ears.

"Do you think I don't know about what you've done?" Garland asked him, his voice low, dangerous. "That I would allow you to take him from me without so much as a whisper?"

"I swear to you, I do not know what you're --" Kain started, hating the fact even he could hear the growing fear in his voice. 

Garland cut him short with a wave of his hand. "No," he said. "You do not. You have no idea what you are dealing with, which only makes your temerity all the more galling." 

Kain thought that Garland was about to elaborate, when the Warrior of Light chose that moment to wake up. He sputtered to life suddenly, lurching up into a sitting position, coughing heavily, and, Kain guessed, from the way his right arm flew out from his side, reaching for his sword. 

Kain knew from experience that the Warrior always slept with his sword within reaching distance, and could wake, take hold of it and kill all within a few moments. It was almost painful to watch when his hand closed around empty air and a look of total confusion crossed his face; he almost managed to get to his feet before Garland threw himself across the short distance between them, his hand hitting the Warrior squarely between the shoulder blades, pushing him face-first to the floor. 

Kain strained against his bonds; feeling useless and helpless, he watched the Warrior try to kick back against Garland's hold and fail. In a fight in which technique, skill and speed were essential, Kain had watched the Warrior of Light hold his own against Garland many a time -- but in a competition of brute strength, and trapped in such a disadvantageous position, Kain knew there was very little the Warrior could do. 

"Kain," the Warrior of Light called out, and Kain had to close his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Are you hurt?"

Kain opened his eyes once more. He looked over to where Garland and the Warrior were still struggling against each other. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw Garland pause, his face unknowable beneath his helmet, but his body lurching back as if he had been struck. Then Kain saw all the aggression return to his movements, and he hauled the Warrior up by the back of his neck, turning him over and then pushing him forcefully backwards so that he stumbled and fell, landing on his back next to Kain. Garland followed him down, pinning the Warrior beneath him, one huge hand encircling his throat.

"Whatever your quarrel is, it's with me," Kain heard the Warrior of Light choke out. "Let us settle this, and let him go."

Garland laughed coldly. "Such noble nonsense." Kain saw his fingers tighten, the claws of his gloves making small indentations on the skin of the Warrior's throat. "He is as complicit as you are in this."

The Warrior's eyes flickered in Kain's direction before snapping back to Garland. "I don't know what you mean."

"Come now," Garland said. "You could hardly have been more obvious if you tried. Do you think I haven't seen you rutting together in the dark, haven't heard it when you think you're alone?"

Even as Kain felt his blood run cold, he saw the Warrior open and shut his mouth, a hot blush burning its way across his cheeks. "I -- I --" he stuttered, before he was cut off by Garland's laugh.

"Don't insult me by denying it," he said. "I know you better than that." Garland leaned down, the mouthpiece of his helmet just above the Warrior of Light's face. Kain had to strain to catch his next words. "We are bound together by fate," he said softly. "Did you think you could escape me so easily?"

The Warrior of Light said nothing, but Kain could see the look of wild panic that suddenly spread across his face; his hand wrapped futilely around Garland's wrist, trying to loosen his grip on his throat.

"How long did you think this would last?" Garland asked, his voice deceptively gentle. "Were you deliberately trying to provoke my anger? You should know by now I have no time for such games." His fingers wound tighter around the Warrior's throat. "Did you think of me when he was inside you? Or did you simply --"

The Warrior let out a tight, choked sound. "Stop this," Kain said, the constriction of his throat barely allowing him to get the words out. 

Unbelievably, Garland pulled back slightly, his fingers unwinding from the Warrior's neck. The Warrior of Light immediately started coughing, his breath sharp and shallow in his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his voice sounding hoarse. 

Garland seemed to pause for a moment, his hand hovering in what Kain could have sworn was uncertainty, before he slammed it down on the floor next to the Warrior of Light's head, shattering the ancient tiles. His head swung towards Kain, and he could not suppress a shudder as the yellow eyes bore into him, glinting with rage and madness. Though he despised himself for it, Kain felt something akin to relief surge through him when Garland looked away, once again turning his gaze on the Warrior of Light.

"Then you truly do not remember..." Garland began, his voice throbbing with anger, and something else that Kain could not identify. He shook his head slightly before continuing. "It matters not. I will simply have to remind you of what has passed." 

Kain wanted to look elsewhere, but found he couldn't tear his eyes away as Garland reached over the Warrior's head for his weapon, hearing the long chain slide link by link from within the blade. Garland hauled the Warrior up by his wrists, ignoring the struggle he made against him and the kick against his thigh, and slammed him backwards against the flat side of a pillar, winding the chain around his arms and torso.

"Garland, what --" the Warrior said, and Kain, for the first time ever, heard a high note of fear in his voice. Garland only laughed in response, his knee sliding up the Warrior's leg, pushing his thighs apart.

"Stop struggling," Garland said quietly, removing the clawed glove on his right hand. "Your body will remember, even if your mind does not."

Kain willed himself to look away as Garland's hand slid inside the black breeches the Warrior wore beneath his armour, but he could not find the strength not to watch as the Warrior tried to arch his body away from Garland's touch, drawing in a juddering breath even as he tried to move.

"You _will_ remember," Garland growled into the Warrior's ear as he drew him out of his breeches, quickening the movement of his hand. "I know your body, and it knows mine. It _will_ betray you." 

Kain saw Garland flick his wrist; cold shock and something close to revulsion sliced through his chest as he heard the Warrior try to bite back a moan. Raising his eyes to the Warrior of Light's face, Kain felt his heart turn to stone in his chest as he watched a flush slowly spreading across his cheeks; he had seen it enough times himself to know what it meant.

"No," the Warrior said again, his voice thin. "I do not -- I don't want this --"

"But you do," Garland said. He turned his head toward Kain, and Kain could see the malicious glow in his eyes, even from behind the helmet. "Tell me, dragoon," he said, the motion of his hand never slowing, "did he ever get hard this quickly for you?"

The ability to speak had temporarily left him, and Kain was reduced to gritting his teeth and concentrating his hatred, his rage into his stare; Garland only laughed in response, running a clawed finger of the glove on his left hand over the Warrior of Light's jawline, just gently enough not to break the skin, but hard enough to leave a long red welt in its wake.

"Kain, it's not --" the Warrior of Light gasped out, turning his head. Garland's grip on his jaw immediately tightened, snapping his head back towards him, sliding the fingers that had been holding his jaw into his mouth.

"Do not dare look at him," Garland growled, the movement of his hand slowing from quick, sharp movements to long, almost languorous strokes. "For you, there is no one but me."

Kain saw the muscles in the Warrior's throat move as he tried to swallow around Garland's fingers. Finally he was able to close his eyes and look away, unable to bear the sight of the Warrior's eyes locked into Garland's, not even trying to turn away now. 

"Do you remember?" Garland asked, his voice barely within Kain's hearing.

"No," the Warrior replied, his voice sounding strangled. "I have _never_ \--"

With his eyes closed and his head turned away, Kain didn't see what happened next, but he heard the Warrior let out a sharp yelp. 

"Don't lie to me," Garland said. "You remember -- perhaps not everything, but you remember _this._ " Kain twitched as he heard the Warrior's breathing hitch. "You have come to me cycle after cycle, every time until now," Garland continued. "Whether you admitted the reason to yourself or not, you couldn't stay away. Even after all of your memories were swept away, this – _this_ remained with you, however faintly." 

Kain heard the Warrior of Light make a choked noise in the back of his throat, heard some movement as Garland presumably changed position, and his hand returning to the faster pace it had previously set.

"You don't remember your own name," Garland said, "but you remember this." 

Kain's jaw muscles bunched as he heard the Warrior's gasp, followed by a low whine. His own breathing sounded ragged in his ears. Rage, disgust, and betrayal surged through him; humiliation that he had done nothing, _been able_ to do nothing all this time scorched his heart, the strength of his emotion making it difficult to breathe. Something in his head repeated that he _should have known, he should have known_ that this could only be the end result of having found something he thought was simply his -- even in this place, he could not escape his debts.

Kain was so submerged in his thoughts that he did not hear Garland rise and approach him; he gasped in shock when Garland's gloved left hand grasped his chin, forcing his head up. 

Kain opened his eyes, staring in loathing up at Garland's helmet, before his gaze flickered to where the Warrior lay, half turned on his side as much as the chain around his arms would allow, facing away from Kain, his sides still heaving from exertion. 

"Here." Kain heard amusement in Garland's voice and he looked back up at him just as the fingers on Garland's right hand forced themselves between his lips, smearing them with warm, viscous liquid. Kain coughed, choking as they thrust deep into his mouth, over his tongue. "I will at least allow you to clean him from my hand," Garland said, removing his fingers and wiping them over Kain's cheek before Kain had sufficiently collected his presence of mind to think of biting them off. He swallowed, the familiar, salty taste sliding over his mouth. Without thinking, he licked his lips, and caught the cruelly amused glint in Garland's eye in response.

"I'm sorry, Kain." Garland's head snapped back to where the Warrior of Light lay. He had rolled back towards them, his face still flushed, still breathing slightly heavily. 

Garland stood and moved swiftly back to his side. "I told you," he said, his voice harsh, "do not --" Garland cut himself off, going silent for a moment or two. Kain could see his back straighten as if he was paused for thought.

"Garland, just let him go." The Warrior of Light's voice was as defeated as Kain had ever heard it, and for a moment he thought to protest, to insist that he would not go unless the Warrior would be allowed to leave with him. He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come. "You've made your point," the Warrior finished quietly.

"Have I?" Garland asked. The air seemed to bend under the cold menace in his voice, and, for a moment, Kain felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I think not." 

Reaching forward, Garland began to loosen the chain that bound the Warrior to the pillar, his right hand wrapped around his wrists. He jerked the Warrior to his knees and pushed him forward, sending him reeling towards Kain. Kain briefly saw stars as their foreheads collided, and he felt the Warrior's breath on his face for a moment before he tried to push himself backwards, struggling to stand. The Warrior of Light's fingers scrabbled against the stone of the pillar Kain was tied to, but then Garland's hand slammed into the centre of his back, sending him crashing forward into Kain's chest. Winded, Kain coughed, unable to breathe as Garland looped the chain of his weapon around them both, pulling it tight. 

"What are you doing?" he demanded as soon as his lungs returned to working order, his mouth by the Warrior of Light's ear. 

Garland laughed, the sound both hollow and deep. "You wanted to look at him," he said, leaning down behind the Warrior. Reaching forward, he took a handful of his hair, pulling his head back so that Kain could see his face. "So look at him." 

Garland released his grip on the Warrior's hair. Kain's face was close enough to his to pick out individual eyelashes, to see the pinpricks of sweat that beaded over the Warrior of Light's forehead. He could feel his breath on his cheek and see the pulse throbbing in his neck. Kain tried to move, to pull away, but it was no use. Again, he closed his eyes, only opening them again when he heard the heavy sound of Garland's lower body armour hitting the floor. 

He felt the Warrior of Light struggling against him, the chain holding his upper body flat against Kain. "No --" he started to say, and Kain caught the look of panic in his eye as he turned his head back to look at Garland. 

The only response Garland gave was a low laugh. He wound his hand around the Warrior's jaw, holding his head to the front. "Look at him," he said, his voice soft and cruel, "but feel me." 

Kain heard the clink of a potion being uncapped and he closed his eyes again, but he could not block out the sensation of the Warrior's body shuddering against him, or the sound of the short gasp that left his mouth. Opening his eyes, he felt that same sharp pain shoot through his veins, the whole of his vision filled with the Warrior of Light's face, flushed, beaded with sweat, his bottom lip drawn between his teeth -- the expression on his face one that Kain had honestly believed had only ever been seen by him. He watched with morbid fascination, unable to tear his eyes away. The Warrior moved against him, whether pushed by Garland's fingers inside him or of his own volition Kain couldn't tell. He didn't know if he wanted to.

The Warrior's head dropped to his shoulder with a short, strangled noise, and Kain could feel his breath flowing down over his chest, hot and strangely gentle, raising his skin into goosebumps. Kain groaned in the back of his throat, sudden self-hatred, quick and as sharp as a knife, cutting through him -- the movement of the Warrior's body, the expression on his face, and the taste of his come still in his Kain's mouth sent a shock down his nerves almost of pain, but which he knew was something else entirely.

Kain looked away, disgusted with himself even as he felt the hardness slowly building in his groin; the guilt and self-loathing he felt was not alleviated even when Garland pushed the Warrior forward and Kain felt his own flesh throbbing against his thigh. 

"Kain, I'm sorry," the Warrior murmured, and Kain opened his mouth to respond, before Garland let out a low grunt of annoyance. 

Kain couldn't see what was happening, but the arch of the Warrior's back and the way his eyes flew open, his mouth opening in a silent cry, told him everything. Watching, he forgot for a moment where he was, his mind rebelling for just a second or two, refusing to believe that he was in this situation, that this was happening, simply watching the Warrior of Light's face. Then the Warrior's head fell to rest on his shoulder, and Kain's gaze was filled with the sight of Garland's helmet, his mad yellow eyes boring into Kain's face. Kain swallowed, his mouth going dry and his mind freezing in horror, feeling the jerk of Garland's body as he pushed the Warrior against him, hard, rough, as much without mercy as he was in battle. 

As quickly as it had come, Kain felt the bright throb in his groin subside -- he was filled now with only cold, desperate anger. The Warrior of Light's head rolled against his shoulder, and Kain could not help but feel his erection pushing against his thigh with Garland's every thrust.

Kain's head swam with claustrophobia – the combined weight of Garland and the Warrior of Light pressing him back against the pillar made breathing a painful effort, and his knees scraped on the ground, spiking pain up through his legs with every thrust. Garland's breath was hot on his face; but, oddly enough, the thing that made it most unbearable was the tiny, pitched sounds that the Warrior was making close to his ear, and he could no more block them out than he could get his hands free.

Garland's breathing was laboured as he leaned forward, hissing into Kain's face. "Never touch him again," his voice sounding strained. "Touch him, and I _will_ kill you."

Either Garland had been that close to the edge already, or the thought of spilling Kain's blood excited him to the point of climax; but whatever the case, Garland threw his head back, the muscles in his neck standing out starkly against his skin, and a noise that started as a low growl but raised itself to a roar tore its way out of his throat. Kain heard the Warrior of Light let out a low cry, shuddering violently against him, and felt Garland stab forward twice more before his helmeted head fell forward, touching the pillar above Kain's head, his breath, hard and heavy, raining down on him. 

Kain felt numb; trapped beneath the Warrior and Garland, the pillar digging into his back, he was unable to move, his chest hurting with the effort of breathing. He could feel the Warrior of Light's chest rising and falling against his own, his breathing beginning to slow. For a moment, he almost wanted to close his eyes and bury his face in the Warrior's hair, to block out everything around him and simply to breathe, to wish himself into some other place. But the dull ache in his chest would not allow it; anger, pain, betrayal and horror combined into one sick sense of disgust, with himself, with the Warrior, with Garland, and with the world. 

Eventually, Garland pushed himself up from the pillar, the Warrior of Light letting out a soft whine as he withdrew. For a moment, he Garland looked into Kain's eyes, and Kain imagined he could read the triumph therein. Garland unwound the chain of his weapon from round them both; for a moment, Kain willed the Warrior of Light to get up now that he was free, to strike Garland down, to do _anything_ other than simply slide away from him, unable to look him in the face, and doing nothing to prevent Garland's departure.

Finding his voice, Kain called out as Garland began to turn away, reaching for his armour. "I have just one question." 

"And what is that?" Garland asked, half-turning back towards him.

"You said you knew his name," Kain said. "That he had told it to you."

"I did."

Kain swallowed thickly. "Tell me what it is."

Garland paused, looking at him. "Do you sincerely want to know?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Kain nodded.

"Hmph." Garland leaned forward, the mouthpiece of his helmet hovering next to Kain's head for a moment. The only sound Kain heard before he turned away again was Garland's cold laugh in his ear.


End file.
